If you took a quick look at the picture above, it would seem unremarkable . . . a pebbly dirt path flanked by grass. If you are into birds, you might register one, maybe two, Lark Sparrows.
But if you looked closer, you’d see four Lark Sparrows, a very occasional visitor to the Bear Creek Greenbelt.
This morning as we were walking uphill out of the Bear Creek Greenbelt we saw a Lark Sparrow in a scrubby tree.
This afternoon I saw two Lark Sparrows in the same tree (check out the pattern on the face!):
Lark Sparrows
I also saw our resident, banded female Red-tailed Hawk, looking a little worse for wear:
Red-tailed Hawk
And in the world of smaller, flying things . . .
Pale Snaketail
Common Checkered-Skipper
Honey Bee
This morning on our early morning walk with the dog in the Bear Creek Greenbelt we saw all three juvenile Cooper’s Hawks in the magic tree. They soon relocated to another small tree to the southeast.
In the afternoon–after work, in the heat of the day–we took another walk with the dog in the greenbelt. We spotted two of the juvenile Cooper’s Hawks staying low on tree branches in the shade just south of the paved Bear Creek Trail. Here’s one that ventured into the sun momentarily:
Cooper’s Hawk
This morning all three juvenile Cooper’s Hawks were out in the Bear Creek Greenbelt, but only one had prey:
Cooper’s Hawk
That one garnered attention, not only from three of us photographers, but also its siblings:
Cooper’s Hawk
Here’s a Black-crowned Night Heron along the south bank of Bear Creek:
Black-crowned Night Heron
Later in the morning we rode our bikes to Bear Creek Lake Park. As we turned into the entrance at the Fox Hollow golf course, we saw an adult Swainson’s Hawk and a juvenile perched on a utility pole, calling.
On our way back we spotted a mama Mallard and a fresh batch of eight ducklings in Hodgson Ditch.
This morning a couple of friends and I headed up to Stony Pass (Wigwam Creek Area). The first birds we saw were these Western Tanagers:
Western Tanager (female)
Western Tanager (male)
There were lots of Pine Siskins. There was also lots of thistle!
Pine Siskin
We saw a family of Mountain Bluebirds. Here’s one of the juveniles:
Mountain Bluebird (juvenile)
Toward the end of our time there, we finally saw our two target birds. Both were feeding young in net cavities.
Red-headed Woodpecker
Lewis’s Woodpecker
This morning all three juvenile Cooper’s Hawks were in the magic tree in the Bear Creek Greenbelt:
Cooper’s Hawks
At one point, a Black-chinned Hummingbird showed up and buzzed around their heads. It’s a favorite perch of the Black-chinned Hummingbird, but I guess it didn’t feel like picking a fight.
In the Bear Creek Greenbelt this morning, all three juvenile Cooper’s Hawks were in the same small tree, jumping from branch to branch and calling for breakfast. Here are two:
Cooper’s Hawks
White-tailed deer
This morning on our early morning walk with the dog in the Bear Creek Greenbelt all three Cooper’s Hawk juveniles were out, chasing each other, and calling for breakfast. We didn’t see either parent.
Cooper’s Hawk
The one below was maybe twelve feet from the paved Bear Creek Trail, at eye level. As a jogger approached–a pregnant woman with a dark ponytail whom we often see on our early morning walk and whom we greet but have never spoken to–I silently pointed it out. She stopped. “Wow,” she said. “It’s so close!”
Cooper’s Hawk
My better half picked out two raccoons in a tree in the woods between Bear Creek and the pond that never freezes:
Raccoons
And at the pond that never freezes we heard a couple of American bullfrogs. Here’s a Mallard duckling coming up behind two:
American bullfrogs with Mallard duckling
On our early morning walk in the Bear Creek Greenbelt we did not see any of the Cooper’s Hawks–just heard a juvenile calling in the woods.
As we walked back along Bear Creek, I spotted this Black-crowned Night Heron perched above the creek:
Black-crowned Night Heron
Here’s a Double-crested Cormorant just west of the footbridge between Estes and Kipling St.:
Double-crested Cormorant
We also heard, apparently, a female American Redstart (and Merlin Sound ID kept reassuring us that’s what it was). And my better half got a glimpse through the binoculars: gray head, white throat, orangish yellow wash on the breast. It was flitting nonstop in the low canopy. There was a Yellow Warbler nearby.
After work, I took another walk in the heat of the afternoon. A Great Blue Heron was in the pond that never freezes trying to cool down with gular fluttering:
Great Blue Heron
Meanwhile, a Say’s Phoebe was busy trying to feed four juveniles.
Say’s Phoebes
Dragonflies were omnipresent.
Twelve-spotted skimmer
Eastern Amberwing (?)
American rubyspot (male)
American rubyspot (female)
Mating wheel of American rubyspots
A tattered Monarch:
Monarch
This morning in the Bear Creek Greenbelt mama Cooper’s Hawk was nowhere to be seen. But two of the juveniles were hanging out at the “magic tree” and allowed close approach.
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
A friend later told me that third juvenile showed up, and that papa Cooper’s Hawk brought in a meal for them–the first time that papa’s been seen feeding the youngsters directly rather than going through an intermediary (mama Cooper’s Hawk).
A couple of other birds we saw:
Gray Catbird
Lesser Goldfinch